Perfect Trade Partner in Play for Warriors to Address Primary Flaw

The Golden State Warriors are insanely good this season but they aren’t infallible, and potential trades exist that could help the team address its biggest shortcoming.

The unofficial NBA trade season opens Wednesday, December 15, when players who signed free agent deals during last offseason become eligible as trade chips. The Warriors, who lead the entire NBA with a record of 22-5, are in no rush to shake up a formula that’s already worked and is likely only to improve with the return of both Klay Thompson and James Wiseman on the horizon.

But complacency is the enemy of success in an ever-changing NBA landscape, and the prime sellers this season have a couple of items on the shelf that Golden State is likely to be interested in. The only trick, moving before the good stuff is all sold out.

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Pacers Shopping Big Men, and Warriors Should be in the Market

With trade talks likely about to explode in NBA circles, Bleacher Report decided to get ahead of the game. Jake Fischer published a piece Tuesday digging into trade targets, dream deals, and the likely buyers and sellers this NBA season.

Atop the list, he wrote, are the Indiana Pacers. Two quality big men on the Pacers’ roster, All-Star Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, are both widely believed to be available. The Dubs could do well with either of them.

“The team considered most likely to make a significant move is the Pacers, who have made their intentions of reshuffling their roster known around the league. There has been a notion that Indiana could become a true seller similar to Orlando last season,” Fischer wrote. “Rival teams anticipate one of Sabonis or Turner will be traded ahead of February’s deadline. Which big man gets moved may simply depend on which player drives the highest price from interested suitors.”

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Are Warriors Willing to Make Move for Front Line Reinforcements?

Golden State took the entire league by surprise, including themselves, by jumping out the NBA’s best record and holding it through roughly one-third of the season to this point.

However, the team’s most recent loss exposed a flaw in the Dubs’ armor that won’t be secured by the return of Thompson, and may only be aided, but not fixed, by the re-emergence of Wiseman. The Philadelphia 76ers manhandled the Warriors’ front line on Saturday night, December 11, exposing a lack of strength and depth on the interior that could haunt Golden State against taller, more physical opponents come playoff time.

Anthony Slater, of The Athletic, pointed out the finer details of the issue on Twitter following the Dubs’ largest defeat of the season.

“Warriors a -22 in Bjelica’s 12 minutes,” Slater wrote. “Tough for the Warriors to play this Sixers frontline — 48 minutes of either [Joel] Embiid or [Andre] Drummond — without either Draymond [Green] or [Kevon] Looney on the floor. Lack of center depth showing tonight.”

Looney performed admirably and it showed, as the Dubs were a +12 in plus/minus during his 25 minutes of playing time. But the outcome of the game also made another fact abundantly clear — Looney alone is not going to be enough.

Green is the best defender in the league per individual defensive rating, but he is only 6 feet, 6 inches tall. Giving up half a foot in height, more or less, to two separate opponents on the same team is a recipe for wearing Green down and/or landing him in foul trouble.

The return of Wiseman will add some depth on the front line, but he remains young and has a lot of development left in front of him. He’s helpful, but he’s not a solution.

To procure the services of Sabonis or Turner, Golden State will likely have to part with some combination of Wiseman and rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, if not all three. The front office and ownership, however, have been repeatedly clear in their opposition to parting with players they see as a bridge to the future, even if doing so would mean maximizing the championship windows of Green, Thompson and Steph Curry. While that has been Golden State’s position all season, it could either change or prove to be a posturing move for leverage in coming trade talks to solidify the front line and, by extension, the Warriors’ title chances.

An alternate option is that the Dubs use their full taxpayer mid-level exception, worth $5.9 million, on a front court player to round out the team’s depth inside. Such a move, while appealing to a title seeker willing to take a pay cut for a ring, isn’t likely to land an asset matching the quality of either Sabonis or Turner. The question the Warriors have to answer is would such a player be enough to put them over the top, or is it time to abandon the long-term future and play for now?

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